Isaiah 26:13-21

13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us, but we honor only you.
14 Those masters are now dead; their ghosts will not rise from death. You punished and destroyed them and erased any memory of them.
15 Lord, you multiplied the number of your people; you multiplied them and brought honor to yourself. You made the borders of the land wide.
16 Lord, people remember you when they are in trouble; they say quiet prayers to you when you punish them.
17 Lord, when we are with you, we are like a woman giving birth to a baby; she cries and has pain from the birth.
18 In the same way, we had pain. We gave birth, but only to wind. We don't bring salvation to the land or make new people for the world.
19 Your people have died, but they will live again; their bodies will rise from death. You who lie in the ground, wake up and be happy! The dew covering you is like the dew of a new day; the ground will give birth to the dead.
20 My people, go into your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide in your rooms for a short time until God's anger is finished.
21 The Lord will leave his place to punish the people of the world for their sins. The earth will show the blood of the people who have been killed; it will not cover the dead any longer.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.